As computers and computer networks become more and more able to access a variety of dynamic web-based content, people are demanding more ways to obtain that content. Specifically, people now expect to have access, on the road, in the home, or in the office, to dynamic content previously available only from a permanently-connected personal computer hooked to an appropriately provisioned network. They want to view web pages with dynamically loaded navigation menus from their cell phones, track purchases in an online shopping cart from their personal digital assistants (PDAs), and validate entered information in online forms from their palm tops. They also want all of this dynamic content when traveling, whether locally, domestically, or internationally, in an easy-to-use, portable device.
Portability generally requires a device small in size, which in turn limits the displayable area of a display element. A display element may be a screen that displays text or other images. Some displays may be capable of displaying text and graphics in monochrome or color, and perhaps in a variety of different fonts. These capabilities enable a portable communication device, such as a cell phone, PDA, or other similar device, to display information derived from accessing the Internet, for example. However, the limited size of the display element limits the amount of information that may be displayed.
Despite the small displayable area, people may want to access information available on the Internet, or other source of information, using their portable devices. For example, people may want to use a hand held device to perform Internet searches using a search engine, such as the Google search engine, which is available at http://www.google.com/.
When web pages have content that is too large to be displayed on a small displayable area, such as that available on the display of a cell phone, the user may need to navigate through a document manually to view relevant information. For example, if a user is looking for specific information in a document displayed in a small display area, it may be necessary for the user to perform numerous navigation (e.g., scroll, next page) to locate information that is of most interest. The user may be frustrated or confused if too many navigation operations are required, or if the location process takes too long.